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Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul responds to a question from Rep. Kang Sun-young of the People Power Party about the security situation on the Korean Peninsula during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other agencies at the National Assembly's National Defense Committee on Oct. 26. / Yonhap News Agency

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has clarified that the decision to postpone this year's Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with the United States until early next year does not mean that the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) will be delayed.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeong Bit-na made the remarks during a briefing at the ministry's headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, on Oct. 29. The previous day, the ministry announced that Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul had held his first in-person meeting with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and that the two sides had agreed to hold defense ministerial talks in Washington in December, followed by the SCM early next year. The ministry added that Hegseth had also agreed to cooperate to ensure a smooth OPCON transfer at an "appropriate time."

"This year is an important period for making progress on key alliance issues, including the validation of Full Operational Capability (FOC) for the OPCON transition and determining the timing of the transfer," Jeong said. "To that end, our goal is to establish policy direction at the defense ministerial level based on assessments by military authorities and achieve successful outcomes on major issues through a top-down approach."

"Specifically, we are pursuing a two-step approach under which the defense ministers of the two countries will establish a firm consensus on major issues during their talks in December, followed by final decisions at the SCM early next year," she said. "The aim is to link consultations at each stage more closely to improve the quality of the agreements and ensure their effective implementation."

Jeong also explained why the ministry had used the phrase "appropriate time" rather than "early" or "expeditious," which it had previously used when discussing the OPCON transfer.

"'Appropriate time' refers to a time that both countries consider necessary and suitable. It means a point at which a successful transfer can take place after comprehensively considering the conditions required for the transition and the readiness of South Korea and the United States," she said. "It does not mean that the transfer will be delayed."

Jeong added, "The inclusion of Secretary Hegseth's remarks should be understood as a clear expression of the U.S. commitment to a successful transition. We ask that attention be focused on the substance and outcomes of the consultations rather than their format."

"Please understand that we are adopting a two-step approach to allow for closer consultations and final decisions at the SCM, which serves as the decision-making body," she said.

Asked whether differences between South Korean and U.S. military authorities had made it difficult to agree on a specific year for the OPCON transfer at the SCM, prompting the two-step approach, a Defense Ministry official denied any disagreement.

"There are no differences between South Korea and the United States, and the timing of the meeting was announced after the U.S. side coordinated dates that were mutually available," the official said. "I don't think it is accurate to directly link the two issues."

The SCM is typically held between late October and early November each year. This marks the first time in 28 years that the meeting has been postponed to the following calendar year, since 1998, when it was delayed because of U.S. airstrikes against Iraq.

                                                                                                              Lee Han-sol